Symmetroraggea depravata, Massa, Bruno, 2017

Massa, Bruno, 2017, New taxa of Orthoptera (Insecta Tettigoniidae Phaneropterinae) from Madagascar, Zootaxa 4242 (2), pp. 299-312 : 300-301

Symmetroraggea depravata new species

( Figs 2 A–2E)

Material examined and depository. Holotype ♂. Madagascar, Ambanja ( NMHP).

Description. Eyes oval, face without fronto-genal carinae; fastigium of vertex narrower than first antennal segment, sulcate above, not contiguous with fastigium of frons. Pronotum flat, with sharp margins ( Fig. 2 A). Tegmina narrow, with posterior margin nearly straight, blackish longitudinal line bordering the stridulatory area and extending posteriorly on left tegmen ( Fig. 2 A). Stridulatory file 1.4 mm long and constituted of ca. 50 evenly spaced teeth ( Fig. 2 E). Coxae armed, open tympana on both sides of fore tibiae; 5 spines on ventral margin of fore femora, 5 inner and outer spines + 1 spur on each side of ventral margins of fore tibiae, fore tibiae dorsally rounded, not furrowed; mid femora with 8 outer spines, mid tibiae with 11 outer spines + 1 spur and 6 inner spines + 1 spur ventrally, 3 spines + 1 spur dorsally; hind femora with 9 outer and 3 inner spines, hind tibiae with 14 outer and 12 inner dorsal spines + 3 spurs on each side. Genicular lobes of hind femora provided with a pair of small spines on each side. Male last tergite posteriorly protruding and laterally divergent into two lobes, with central part concave and hind margin flat, supra-anal plate modified as one stout inflated extrusion, similarly shaped like the last tergite, and concealed below it; cerci stout, long, incurved, the apical part folded at obtuse angle, with a bulge on the fold and a bifid wide apex ( Figs 2 B, 2C); male subgenital plate exceeding cerci, short, wide, trapezoidal, posteriorly narrowed, with deeply concave apex; styli present but very small ( Fig. 2 D).

Diagnosis. Very characteristic and easily separable from S. dirempta Karsch, 1889 by its male genitalia.

Etymology. From Latin, depravatus = depraved, by its complicated male genitalia.

Measurements. Male. Body length: 18.9; pronotum length: 4.0; length of tegmina: 26.3; width of tegmina: 5.4; length of hind femora: 15.5.

Remarks. The African representatives of the genus Symmetropleura Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 have been placed into two genera, Symmetrokarschia and Symmetroraggea ( Massa 2015) . The latter is known only from Madagascar and is characterized by the round margin of upper margin of fore tibiae and the fronto-genal carinae. Only one species, S. dirempta , was hitherto known. S. depravata n. sp. presents similar fore tibiae, but not frontogenal carinae; however, it is here tentatively included within the genus Symmetroraggea . Its genitalia are very characteristic.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Symmetroraggea depravata n. sp., male: dorsal view of pronotum and stridulatory area of tegmina (A), lateral view (B) and dorsal view (C) of last abdominal segments, subgenital plate (D), stridulatory file (E).